Tag: UNESCO Spotlight

Every December since 2008, members of UNESCO’s cultural committee meet to decide which of the world’s cultural traditions will be honored for the previous year.
﻿This year, 31 traditions were recognized by UNESCO, and 14 of them are in MIR’s destinations. Read More

Each July, the UNESCO World Heritage Committee meets to consider new sites to add to its list of the world’s most awe-inspiring places. The sites are carefully vetted based on a strict set of criteria determining their cultural or natural significance and “outstanding universal value” to humanity. Some have been on the UNESCO Tentative List for years, awaiting their turn to shine.
In 2018, the committee added 19 new sites and significantly expanded an older one. Five of these sites are found in MIR’s destinations. Read More

Each year, the UNESCO World Heritage Committee considers a new assortment of sites to add to its list of the world’s most incredible places. These sites are carefully selected based on a strict set of criteria determining their cultural or natural significance and “outstanding universal value” to humanity.
In 2017, the UNESCO committee added 26 new sites to its list, including 10 in MIR’s destinations.
From an ancient caravan city in dazzling Iran to the soaring, dramatic peaks of Western China, these fascinating places span the breadth of the world's geography, diversity, and history.
Learn more about the new UNESCO World Heritage Sites inscribed in 2017. Read More

Each year the UNESCO World Heritage Committee considers sites to add to its list of the world’s most incredible places. And each year, it chooses some that are in MIR’s favorite destinations.
We’re laying claim to five of the new additions... Read More

Named after its Old Bridge, Stari Most, the town passed from the Ottomans to the Austro-Hungarian Empire in the late 19th century. After WWI, it became a part of newly-formed Yugoslavia. Engulfed in war after Bosnia and Herzegovina declared independence in 1992, the town was shelled repeatedly. Its Old Town, including its namesake bridge, was all but destroyed. Read More

Lithuania’s Curonian Spit is a narrow 60-mile strip of sand running from Klaipeda south into the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad. Formed over 5,000 years ago, the forested dunes of the spit separate the mostly freshwater Curonian Lagoon from the Baltic Sea. Read More

Imam Square in Isfahan, Iran is among the largest squares in the world, second only to China’s Tiananmen Square. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, Imam Square is five times the length and three times the width of an American football field. Read More

Traveler Reviews

Luxury rail journeys by private train combine nostalgic Old World rail travel with modern amenities, abundant food and wine, and onboard entertainment – all while easily and efficiently covering thousands of miles and transiting multiple time zones.Each luxury train departure is all-inclusive, first-class, and first-rate in comfort and ease, from beginning to end:Travel between cultured Moscow and hospitable Iran via Central Asia on Jewels of Persia & The Silk Route by Private Train (Eastbound / Westbound), stopping in a total of five countries along the way.The Heart of Persia rides a ring around Iran discovering UNESCO sites that travelers rarely see.Ride the rails through Silk Road spotlight cities like Urumqi, Xi’an, Samarkand and Bukhara, via the Silk Route by Private Train (Eastbound / Westbound).Experience seven UNESCO sites while traveling on the Orient Silk Road Express on the Essence of the Silk Road by Private Train (Eastbound / Westbound). Take a grand journey that encompasses the intriguing countries of Iran,aaa